Columns

How to choose a micrometer that fits your needs

Match your micrometer choice to your specific machine shop needs.

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Basics

5 Things New CNC Machine Operators Must Know

These subjects are the building blocks of training newcomers on a specific CNC machine tool.

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Aerospace

Center of Excellence Is New Twist on Old Manufacturing Department Structure

The new Spirit AeroSystems facility for five-axis machining allows a small team to oversee a significant amount of machining capability. Is this the way of the future as machining systems become more automated?

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CNC Tech Talks

Monitoring Time for Preventive Maintenance Tasks

Not all maintenance tasks should be performed based on a calendar date. You can use a custom macro to monitor your machines.

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Automation

3 Mindset Changes for Lights-Out CNC Machining

Expanding capacity into the unattended hours calls for counterintuitive new ways of thinking about the work.

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Measurement

Maintaining an Air Gage System’s High Performance

Tight, clean and dry: The requirements of air gaging aren’t very different from mechanical gaging.

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Data-Driven Manufacturing Scales Down

An automatic gaging station demonstrates the potential of shopfloor connectivity at the level of the individual machine tool.

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Die/Mold

Additive Manufacturing for Hard Tooling

Hybrid manufacturing is enabling tooling to be made with additive processes.

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Manufacturing to Meet Tech Community at MT360

I will hold onstage conversations with additive manufacturing and collaborative automation leaders as part of the new technology event to premier May 12-14, 2020, in Santa Clara, California.

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Basics

Converting Time and Date to a More Useful Format

FANUC and FANUC-compatible CNCs have multiple ways to monitor time. They are accessed by four system variables: milliseconds clock, hours clock, current date and current time. Here’s how to format information in a helpful way.

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AI Makes Shop Networks Count

AI assistance in drawing insights from data could help CNC machine shops and additive manufacturing operations move beyond machine monitoring.    

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